Surviving The Game As A Barbarian Novel - Chapter 645
Chapter 645: Coming Out (3)
Why did the nonhuman alliance of Melbeth freak out so much when I was granted a seat at the Palatial Meeting? I was able to learn why when the meeting began.
“The first topic of discussion is the invasion by the forces of Noark.”
The topic had been discussed not just in Melbeth, but at the Races Summit as well. However, the marquess spoke confidently of information I hadn’t been able to hear anywhere else.
“Although it took place earlier than expected, their invasion started at the beginning of this month.”
So the palace knew they were going to invade us. However, that didn’t mean the palace was all-powerful and could deal with said threats with ease.
“But as you all know, the extermination plan was unable to be carried out due to an unforeseen variable.”
What do you mean, “as you all know?” Are you not going to treat this barbarian here like a person?
I tilted my head and mumbled under my breath, “Extermination plan?”
The marquess paused, and all the nobles turned their attention toward me, each with a different look in their eyes.
The last seat dares to speak?
Some were baffled that I, who was seated at the last seat, spoke and interrupted the marquess in the meeting.
Hmph, it’s to be expected of the last seat.
Others shrugged it off as if they knew to expect such behavior from me. That particular category included Duke Kealunus and Count Alminus. The people who had interacted with me before weren’t surprised whatsoever.
The marquess was, of course, one of them.
“Now that I think about it, Baron Yandel might not be privy to the details of the extermination plan. This is his first time attending,” the marquess mused to himself.
At that, one pair of eyes that had been looking down on me widened in surprise. They belonged to that Count Heuma-something who laughed at me earlier. What, did he think the marquess was going to scold me or something? I didn’t know, but I didn’t particularly care about him either.
“The extermination plan was conceived after we obtained intel that the Noarkans’ objective was Bifron,” the marquess explained. “We were planning to lure all of them there before blowing the whole district up at once.”
I looked back at him. “But that didn’t go as planned?”
“Unfortunately not.”
With that, the marquess turned his gaze from me before addressing the meeting attendees once again.
“The alteration to our plan was brought about when that unidentified wizard appeared within the Noarkan forces.”
It felt like I was back in school, having my first day after transferring, but I could at least follow what he was saying this time.
If it’s an unidentified wizard he’s talking about, it’s probably them.
The same wizard who activated the ancient magic circle in the underground fortress to teleport tens of thousands of people at once, and the one who opened the portal that connected to the seventh floor from outside the castle walls.
“The only information we have on him is that he is an old man… The intelligence bureau speculates that he is the one who meddled with the protection magic circle as well, as he is suspiciously adept with ancient magic.”
In any case, it was pretty easy to summarize what happened. The palace had planned on routing the Noarkans into Bifron and wiping them out in one fell swoop, but because a mysterious wizard activated the protection magic circle, their plan failed.
“Currently, we are looking for a way to disable the protection magic circle from the outside, but the wizard in question seems to have wrestled enough control over the spell that we aren’t seeing any progress at the moment.”
Given how they were making an official statement so openly here, it was safe to say that there was no way into Bifron with things how they were.
I don’t know if this is because the palace is powerless, or because the opposition is that brilliant…
One thing was certain, though. The dogs of the palace weren’t going to just back down.
“The intelligence bureau has determined that the unidentified wizard is most likely capable of activating the defunct Dimension Square of Bifron. Because of that…” The marquess paused, letting the moment stretch on, before stating. “We are now officially declaring here the sealing of the labyrinth.”
Sealing the labyrinth.
Considering the structure and way of life for the Rafdonian city-state, it was a very heavy topic. However, as soon as the news was out, Duke Kealunus spoke as if on cue.
“Certainly… If the labyrinth is closed, not even they will be able to do anything.”
After the duke, it was Count Alminus.
“They will have to make a choice: either walk out of their own will or starve within.”
They were all rehearsed lines. I doubted today was their first time hearing about this.
Under normal circumstances, a scenario would have been crafted in which a vote to close the labyrinth would take place just for show, and the decision would have been near-unanimous.
However, I was a barbarian with no understanding of social cues.
“Marquess Tercerion, I have a question.”
He was slow to respond. “Go on.”
“Do we have to seal the entire labyrinth?”
In response, Count Heu-whatever in seat twenty-seven couldn’t hold back and commented, “Think about it. If there were another way, do you think the Lord Marquess would speak of sealing the labyrinth?”
Well, he wasn’t wrong, but the existence of other methods wasn’t what I was curious about. I wanted to know why it was the only method available.
“Is that true?” I asked, turning to the marquess after ignoring Count Heuheu.
The marquess looked at me with open annoyance but proceeded to kindly explain, “The dimensional magic governing the labyrinth is more complicated than you can imagine. However, I will give you a brief overview of the subject.”
He said brief, but he actually went rambling on about some long and boring tale. I had a way of keeping it simple, however.
The labyrinth was the server, and the portals were the way to log in to that server. The problem was that if there were too many ways to log in, then there was no way for the palace to control its subjects.
So that’s why they’re trying to close down the server itself. If the server is closed, then it doesn’t matter what log-in method they try to use.
“Do you understand?”
“A little. Thanks for that!”
With my curiosity satiated, I watched the meeting unfold without further interruption.
What about the pushback from the adventurers when the labyrinth gets shut down?
What would we do about the adventurers who wouldn’t be able to pay their taxes this year?
How long would the labyrinth stay sealed?
Those topics were discussed at length, and in the end, the marquess ended the discussion by summarizing, “The labyrinth will be sealed today, and we will decide when it will be opened again at the next meeting. Those who agree, please turn your coin over.”
The one surprising part was that the voting process was perfectly public. However, it made more sense the more I thought about it. The culture here didn’t respect anonymity, so secret votes would give rise to potential undermining negations.
Fwip.
Each member in attendance took the golden coin sitting in front of them and flipped it over onto the side showing the symbol of the palace, and soon enough, the results were in: It was a near-unanimous decision in favor of closing the labyrinth.
It was no wonder, then, that the eyes of all the people present landed on me once again. Why wouldn’t they, when I was the only one who voted against it?
“Baron Yandel, may I ask why you did not turn over the coin?”
“It’s clear that everyone will have a hard time if the labyrinth is closed. Well, we’re living good, so the labyrinth closing won’t affect our livelihoods too much!”
“Hmm… So you opposed it for the sake of the citizens?”
“You could say that.”
The marquess just nodded after I gave my response. It seemed he really did just ask out of curiosity.
“We will now proceed with the second topic.”
The boring meeting continued.
***
The meeting that began in the morning continued without rest into lunch. There were a few breaks in the middle, but…
Why is the schedule so hardcore?
We were only given enough time to go to the bathroom or things like that. Definitely not enough time to eat. It was a longstanding tradition of Palatial Meetings or something along those lines.
“Haha, that is why on the day of the meeting, everyone eats a hefty breakfast before coming in.”
“Why did a tradition like that even start?”
“If you’re invited to attend, your time is worth your weight in gold. Since gathering the attendees here is a feat itself, everyone wants to minimize the time wasted, even if it inconveniences them a little.”
Hmm, but if that was the reason, wouldn’t it be more efficient to just get straight to the point instead of using all that flowery language and dancing around the issues? Honestly, if the only attendees of the Palatial Meeting were barbarians, we would’ve been able to finish everything before lunch and eat on time.
“Ack, seems the meeting is going to resume. You can go in first.”
With that, Count Alminus and I parted ways. I stuffed the rest of the jerky into my mouth before entering the room, and the meeting resumed.
The second topic was about the reconstruction of District Seven and District Thirteen, the third about taxes, and the fourth about accepting evil spirits…
Speaking of, the evil spirits thing only got a brief mention. It received a lot of opposing votes and was dismissed—
“Then, now onto the ninth topic.”
The marquess, who was acting as the host, gave a quick perusal of the room before settling his gaze on me. I glanced to the side only to see Ragna looking embarrassed while trying to school her expression.
It immediately tipped me off to what would happen next.
Looks like it’s finally time.
The ninth topic was about my marriage. Between me and Ragna, at that.
“However, before the ninth topic is discussed, I will say this for the benefit of all those in attendance. This discussion may be a bit personal.”
“Hmm, a personal matter?”
“That is how it should be categorized, but it is still a matter of great importance to the Kingdom of Rafdonia.”
“Then we shall leave it to you.” Duke Kealunus nodded at the marquess’s explanation. No one would step forward against such a display.
That grandpa’s acting again. He knows what we’re going to be talking about.
Duke Kealunus and Marquess Tercion. What an interesting relationship those two had. Even though they were set up as rivals, they cooperated well whenever it came down to it.
“Baron Yandel, what has you so lost in thought?”
“I wasn’t thinking about anything.”
“Then please pay attention to what will now be said. The person directly involved with this is you, Lord Baron.”
“Huh?” I asked with an innocent tilt of my head. “Are you talking about me?”
The marquess sent me a look of suspicion before talking in his usual flowery noble speak. “Baron Yandel, everyone here recognizes just how busy you are in your daily life, and just how many things you have accomplished in your time. However, it is a great loss to the great royal house of Rafdonia for a person of your caliber, and a family head of a noble family, to remain without a partner.”
“…What are you trying to say?”
“Isn’t it time you find a life partner and build a family? If you agree to it, I wish to recommend Countess Peprok to be your wife.”
The moment the words were uttered, the meeting room livened up.
“Huh?!”
“Baron Yandel and Countess Peprok…?”
Judging by their reactions, I could tell that a few of the nobles present didn’t know about my marriage.
“The House of Countess Peprok is in a similar situation to yours, Lord Baron. Under the law, the two houses cannot become one, but if the two are connected through marriage, this will be a great blessing to you and the kingdom… At least, that is how I see it. What is your take on the matter?”
The question dangled a crushing weight above my head. Not like he was actually asking for my opinion or anything. He brought it up deliberately to try and pressure me.
Yes or no. As always, those were the only two choices given to me.
If I agreed to the marriage, I would be submitting to the marquess, who would then work to control me in countless ways. And if I refused, I would be kept in check in plenty of other ways too.
“Of course, we are not asking you to make a decision right here and now. After you collect your thoughts—”
However, I wasn’t going to be changing my mind. It was a pretty extreme tactic. It made me shiver just thinking about it again.
Damn it.
But I still had to do it.
“I don’t want to!” I shouted, cutting off the marquess.
“…Huh?”
“I won’t be marrying.”
“Hmm…”
The marquess narrowed his eyes a little at my blatant refusal. Those eyes were telling me he was contemplating how he was going to keep me in check for rejecting his proposal.
I hastily said, “Not just Countess Peprok. I won’t be marrying anyone.”
That was the decision I came to after a lot of thinking. If the marquess was worried that the Yandel Barony was going to actively use marriage to explode in power, then it should be fair for me to declare solitude to combat that.
“I truly do not understand. Are you saying you would remain single forever?”
However, the marquess didn’t seem to trust me. I didn’t blame him. A mere declaration could be overturned whenever I so pleased depending on how I felt in the moment.
Do I really need to do this…?
I needed a more guaranteed method, and that was exactly what I had prepared. The problem was that the very thought of it had me sighing.
Yeah, let’s try it.
In the end, I clenched my eyes shut, decided and ready.
“Marquess Tercerion!” I shouted loudly. “I’m sorry, but I’m not interested in women!”
For some reason—
No, I had a pretty good idea as to why.
When I slowly forced my eyes open, I was met with a crushing stillness, as if the world had come to a halt.
Once the frozen time resumed, looks of horror were directed my way.
“You…are not interested in women?”
“No, then perhaps…!”
Many drew their own conclusions and expressed disdain. It was understandable since homosexuality was considered taboo in this world.
“But it’s not men I like…”
I proceeded to take out the doll I prepared from my sub-space and presented it to everyone.
“I love this doll!”
“…What?”
“I will marry this doll!”
“…Pardon?”
It had to be done.
English
orachion
Okay that’s was some bullshit